They Came Back to Haunt Me
by Tubudesu
Summary: In a world where Ghost Pokemon are just myths, Katori, a girl who has the power to see the supernatural leaves on a journey through Kalos to recover from a mental illness and discover the truth behind her parent's deaths. But when a mysterious organisation known as 'The Knights of Mortem' begins to threaten Kalos, Katori realises a lot more is at stake then her mental stability.
1. Ghosts

Thinking back, my journey truly began when I was thirteen.

I had been a curious child, eyes always open to the things that went on around me. I loved watching the People and Pokemon move about the bustling Goldenrod streets- it was rather odd, I didn't look at them like a normal seven year old would, with excitement at the colors and sounds of the city... No, I looked at them with a sense of wonder.

You see, I had figured out frighteningly quickly that each and every living thing out on those streets had their own plans for the day, their own obstacles to overcome, their own highs and lows. Even at such a young age I knew that each and every living thing had its own dreams and aspirations- and that each one would come to a completely different fate.

Of course I wouldn't have been able to put that feeling into words back then... although I suppose that was for the best, a child with such perception on things would have been rather... unsettling to say the least. Well, anyway- my curiosity at the lives of the people around me was not the thing that caused a divide between my younger self and the rest of humanity, no- it was my unnerving knowledge of death.

When my Grandmother had died, I had been the one to find her body, and unlike a normal child who would immediately assume she was sleeping, I went into the living room where my parents had been having what must have been a lovely conversation with the neighbors and calmly informed them that Grandma had died of a heart attack. I will never forget the look on Mrs. Parker's face when I said that, it was as if she believed me to be some demon. Of course, back then I never knew that my morbid observations were, well, morbid.

It was strange though, Mum and Dad never did seem as scared as the others. They never even really seemed surprised that I was such a creepy child. Whenever an incident like my Grandmother's death arose they just told me that most people were afraid of things like that, like when I saw my Shinx eat a Starly and explained to my school teacher how it aimed for the throat in order to maximize the bleeding and prevent it from breathing, oh the shock on the class's face. My dear old teacher contacted my parents immediately, even going as far as to recommend a psychiatrist- not that I knew what that was back then- but my mother and father were adamant that I never needed one- kind of ironic, really. I suppose your parents really do know best.

So throughout my early years I stayed apart, never once worrying why I was so different to everyone else. Never once questioning why my parents never batted an eye at the fact that I was quite possibly the creepiest child in Goldenrod. I continued to walk the streets of the city and the halls of my school never feeling out of place, even with the wary stares I would get from passersby. I knew I was different, but I just assumed that we all were to some degree... I was just slightly more different than the others.

Never would I have imagined how much of an understatement 'slightly' was.

About a year before my thirteenth birthday, I began to see things. At first they were small happenings- the kind of stuff that most people would dismiss as a trick of the light or a gust of wind. Candles would flair up in my presence and lights would flicker, me being the curious creature that I was asked my parents about it- it was then that I first began to doubt my mental stability. Instead of my Mother's usual understanding smile and my father's soft gaze, I was met with cold stares. They had told me harshly that these things were just my overactive imagination.

At first I believed them, I mean, why shouldn't I? So far everything they had told me was true, they had been understanding about my differences before so if they grew fearful now, then of course the strange happenings would be best left ignored. Like they said, I was a curious child with a very active imagination, I had simply grown bored of my current surroundings and began to see things that would make my life more exciting.

And so for the next few months I ignored the lights and candles, taking solace in the dark. I told myself that the unlocked window was simply due to my forgetfulness and not some otherworldly force- after all, ghosts were just legends. My parents had been clear on that from the start, as were my teachers and fellow students. I almost thought I could handle it until... _it_ spoke to me.

 _It_ was in the chandelier that hung from the living room. For some odd reason I felt that I had always known that... that I had always felt like something was watching me from up there. So when the chandelier spoke to my twelve year old self, I was almost unsurprised- but that did not change the fact that I was afraid. Whatever was hiding up among those rafters was not supposed to be here, it was not supposed to be in this world.

 _"Do you not feel so different from everyone?"_ It had asked, its voice flickering like the flames that it held.

 _"Do you not feel as if you do not belong?"_

That was the first time that it had spoken to me- It had been in the middle of the night and I had only gotten up to get a glass of water. When it spoke, with it's searing, ghastly voice, it had caused me to run- too afraid to scream, straight back to my room. When I woke I told myself that the whole thing was imagined, nothing more than a dream. Ghost Pokemon did not exist, mother and father said so. But the thing in the Chandelier was not done with me.

I had avoided getting out of bed at night for weeks, but on this particular night I so badly needed to use the bathroom that it had overcome the fear of _It_. But of course, as I rushed past the lamp it flared up, the candles burning a cold blue.

 _"Do not run, my child."_ It hissed, _"You and I are more alike than you think."_

My need to use the toilet was instantly forgotten and I once again raced back to my bed, willing myself to sleep with all the power I had.

It was months before I next heard the chandelier speak. It became a ritual of mine to ensure that I used the bathroom and place a glass of water next to my bed every time I needed to sleep. Even during the day I would keep well away from the living room and that awful chandelier. I never told my parents about the thing inside it- they would only say that they were nightmares, my fears projected onto reality. They were probably right, of course- Ghost Pokemon were legends, nothing more... and I was just a hysterical child.

Then the worst of it came.

One night I awoke, not in my bed as I had originally believed I was, but in the living room, staring directly at the chandelier. I remembered how helpless I had felt, no matter what I did I somehow always ended up in that cursed room with that wretched thing. Whether by my own fault or mere accident, it would draw me in every time.

 _"I see you are afraid."_ It said, however the flickering flames seemed warmer somehow, as if they were no longer sucking the heat from the air.

 _"Child, I have no wish to harm you... Have I done anything to hurt you?"_

I remembered how I had slowly nodded my head, my fear slowly being replaced with curiosity. "What is your name?" I called out to the thing.

 _"My name? Why, no one has asked me that for a long time."_ It was strange how the thing had seemed amused at my question. It had mulled it over for a moment before replying, _"Thanatos is my name. What about yours?"_

"Katori." I had said without hesitation. It was strange how I suddenly felt safe with the spirit- perhaps I was insane.

 _"Well Katori, I know that you feel out of place here, is that not so?"_

I once again nodded my head.

 _"Now, what if I told you that I could show you a world where people like you are welcomed? What if I told you I could bring you home?"_

"Home?" I had asked, irises filled with the hope of the blue light. "I thought this was my home... Mommy and Dad-"

 _"Your Mother and Father are liars."_

That had stung. They were only people that had ever bothered to show me any feeling aside from fear- and this... this thing had the audacity to call them liars? I don't know why I hadn't stopped talking to the thing right then- but something made me stay- some terrible feeling deep inside that reasoned that this entity might speak some truth.

 _"Did it not make you wonder when they told you that the flickering lights and burning candles were just tricks of the imagination?"_

"But that's what they-"

 _"No. That was me trying to contact you, to bring you back where you belong. Your... parents..."_ The thing spat the word out as if it were some vial poison. _"Are trying to keep you from me."_

Now for an impressionable twelve year old that was a lot to take in. Some thing hiding in a chandelier was telling me that I had been lied to my whole life? I just didn't want to believe it... but again, that twisted part within me said that it must be true, that everything this thing was telling me made perfect sense.

And I caved in.

 _"Now, if you want to escape from this terrible place you must listen close."_

I nodded once to indicate that the thing had my attention.

 _"There by the fireplace, there is a large iron rod, you must throw it toward me as hard as you can."_

"But that will start a fire!"

 _"Hush, child. You must trust me if I am to take you home. You do trust me, don't you?"_

I lowered my gaze and walked over to the fireplace. All my life I had been an outcast, someone to fear and spread stories about. I was the weird girl who didn't fear death, who didn't play with dolls as other girls should. I just sat in the corner and read.

I felt the cold of the iron rod as I gripped it tightly in my small palms. All my life I had been trapped in this world that felt so suffocating and restricting and now- after so many years I was given the chance to free myself. I was going to go home.

I readied the iron rod, pulling back my arm and lining up the throw. This was it.

"Katori! No!"

My mother yelled from the doorway. I whipped my head around, seeing her beautiful green eyes welling with fear- I would never forget her bright orange hair, seeming to light up the night like a great promise, in complete contrast to the ghostly blue of the chandelier. I tried to pull back the rod but it had already been thrown.

With a crash the Chandelier fell to the ground, the blue fire exploding outwards like some sort of bomb- it was like no natural thing I had ever seen. Rather than burn it seemed to swallow the heat of the house, consuming it in a calm and deathly cold.

Suddenly I heard my father's voice, his bright blue eyes flashing in front of my pale face. "Protector custos animarum, et Klefki secreta! Pro dono animam meam vitae!"

" _Klefki!"_

Suddenly there was a flash of white light and my vision went dark.

* * *

After the ordeal I was informed by Police Officers that my parents had died in the fire. They informed me that the chandelier had not been very old and that the weak links had caused it to fall from the ceiling and start the fire.

When I summoned the strength to bite back my tears and tell them what I thought really happened, they sent me to a psychiatrist.

"This, 'thing' is just a coping device you used to make the death seem more tangible to you. It was something that you could understand- an evil monster, you couldn't believe that your parent's death was a mere accident so your mind made up something that, to a young girl like you, made much more sense." The psychiatrist had said when I turned fifteen.

By this point I had grown out of the silly ghost stories, I knew I was crazy, what the psychiatrist said made sense. Much more sense than a 'ghost' anyway.

After I was deemed mentally stable, the police stationed me in an orphanage near a good high school in Goldenrod. Funny thing was, even among the misfits and outcasts of the orphanage I still never felt at home. I mean, being driven crazy by the witnessing of everyone you've ever loved being burnt alive doesn't exactly make you a very relatable person, and so for the most part, I stayed alone with my books. Seeing my psychiatrist whenever I had strange nightmare- or heard more strange voices.

It was when I was close to turning eighteen that the psychiatrist recommended a journey to the Kalos region. Even after five years I still had the horrid nightmares and heard that ghastly flickering voice- and she told me that a trip to Kalos- what was considered the hub of paranormal activity in the world, would help me disassociate these 'ghosts' from reality. Once I went to the most 'haunted' place on Earth and saw that it wasn't haunted at all, my mind would be at ease- and besides, she said going on a journey with Pokemon could never do anyone any harm!

Oh how fucking wrong that was.


	2. The Magician

There it was, the S.S. Dawnbreaker.

The ship wasn't as big as any of those horrible fishing trawlers that crawled their way through the Goldenrod harbour, but that certainly did not mean the craft was small by any means. The thing looked to be three stories tall and at least four Wailords long, its glossy white outside giving off a feeling of extravagance and a rather queer sense of new experiences. It truly was a sight to behold. I wondered what I would find when exploring the colossal vehicle.

As I boarded the ship I allowed my mess of dark hair to fall across my face, obscuring my dull, grey eyes from the people around me. Clutching my ticket from within my jacket pocket I readied myself for the confrontation with the boat's attendant. I don't really know why I felt like I had to prepare myself whenever I wanted to communicate with another human being, but I always felt so insecure about it, like the person I was talking to would suddenly decide I was crazy... well, I was crazy I suppose, but that's beside the point.

"Ticket please!" the attendant chimed, an over-exaggerated smile plastered across her face as she reached out to receive my slip of paper.

My gaze instantly dropped to the floor, my eyes hiding among the tangles of my hair. Without speaking, I took the ticket from my pocket, probably creasing it quite dramatically before placing it into the attendant's outstretched palm. As I returned my arm back to the safety of my jacket I realised that I had been shaking.

"Are you alright there, miss?" she asked, sounding genuinely concerned- something that I definitely didn't want, that would mean a continuation of the conversation- and that would mean more chances to make a fool out of myself, and that would mean that more and more people would have the chance to pin me as a freak.

"I-I'm fine," I gushed, quickly pushing past the desk and into the confines of the boat before the attendant had a chance to speak further.

I gave a sigh of relief as I pulled the hood of my jacket up around my pale face. The handing over of the ticket most certainly could have gone better, but I was just thankful that I hadn't drawn any unwanted attention. At least I thought I didn't attract any unwanted attention, the people that passed me by didn't seem to be giving me strange stares so that was a good sign.

I reached into my pockets once again, withdrawing a crumpled map of the ship. Yesterday I had managed to acquire one from the Goldenrod information centre. Apparently the vessel often took travellers between Sinnoh and Kalos, but that wasn't the reason I had picked up the map. I had spent over two hours last night studying the thing in order to find the fastest route to my room. But now that I was physically on the ship, I wasn't so sure as to where the hell I was supposed to go.

"2B... 2B..." I muttered my room number under my breath, finding it on the map and trying to correlate the markings with the corridor around me. How the hell was I going to find my way around Kalos if I couldn't even navigate around a boat?

As I trekked deeper into the ship's maze of corridors I began to hear a voice booming down the hall. It was obviously amplified by some sort of microphone. Being the curious girl that I was, I decided that since I couldn't find my room, I may as well try to entertain myself- I wouldn't get involved or anything, just find out whatever it was that was going on down there.

As I finished my walk through the corridor I felt sunshine splash on my pale face, I was on the deck of the ship now, the Sinnoh breeze tangling my hair even more than it already was. My eyes searched the area, looking for the source of the microphone, it was then that I noticed a small group of people gathered around a boy.

He looked to be around my age, definitely no more than nineteen. He was rather short for a guy, probably still taller than me- but that wasn't exactly hard, still though, despite his height he commanded attention like some sort of celebrity, drawing in eyes as if he were a vacuum. I couldn't really place what it was about him that caught these people's interests... maybe his curls of ginger hair, wrapping around his head like a hood of fire- or maybe it was his eyes, glistening a bright green that just brimmed with hope for the future. Whoever this guy was, I'd hate to hang around him. He looked like the sociable, talk-too-much kind of fellow, and that was not something I wanted to deal with.

But still, I was curious as to what was happening, so I took a place a few feet behind the main bulk of his audience, leaning against the railing of the ship as I strained to hear his words in the wind.

"How're you all doing today?" he asked, a smile breaking out across his face as his audience cheered. "My name is Damon Atlas and I'm here to entertain you all with some..." he paused, giving an intake of breath as to what was obviously an attempt at creating some dramatic effect, "Magic!"

Once again the audience let out cheers. This Atlas kid really seemed to be eating up all that attention like a child would to ice cream.

"Now, to begin I'm going to use a simple card trick," he said, making a show of shuffling a deck of cards, letting them twist through his fingers as he masterfully weaved the deck between his palms. "To do this trick, I'm going to need a volunteer. Any takers?"

A chorus of 'pick me' and 'over hear' rang out from the crowed. Good, he wasn't going to be picking us out at random, if I just stayed at the back, I could see his little magic show and then leave.

"How about you, pretty little lady?" He pulled a blonde girl with the body of a supermodel up onto the stage with him. Of course he would go for her, all of these attention whoring guys were like that.

"Would you be willing to share your name, miss?- wait, don't tell me-" He paused, making _very_ over-exaggerated movements around his temples to show he was deep in thought. "It's Jessica, isn't it?"

The blonde giggled, "Yes, Jessica Kingsley. How on earth did you know that?"

Damon gave a sly smile, "A magician must have his secrets..." He winked before launching back into conversation, "So Jessica Kingsley, huh? I believe your family owns Parfum Palace over in Kalos, your father is a member of the elite four, no?"

Huh, so that's how he knew her name... he didn't read her mind, he just picked out a person in the crowd that he recognised. So much for magic.

"Yes, that is correct," Jessica chimed in reply, "Daddy's also going to take another shot at becoming champion soon."

"Well I wish him the best of luck!" Damon grinned, "Anyways, on with the magic. I'd like you to think of a card- any card at all, excluding the Jokers of course."

"Alright, I have my card."

"Now, I want you to focus as hard as you can on your chosen card, think of nothing else except that card."

"Okay."

"Now check your purse."

Jessica opened the small bag at her side, quickly plucking a card from its depths and revealing a seven of spades to the audience. "I don't quite know how you managed to get that in there," she said with less surprise than I had expected, "But this isn't my card."

Damon gave another knowing smile, "Oh I know that, a seven is much too low for you." He suddenly snapped his fingers and the card that Jessica was holding burst into flames, "You're much hotter than that, I'd even say... a perfect ten."

Jessica gasped and revealed the now ten of spades to the audience, "That's my card!" she giggled. Arceus that laugh was obnoxious.

I gave a sigh, the trick would have probably impressed me had he not used those cheesy pick up lines along side it. Jessica seemed to love the compliments though, good for her. Still, I had to admit that I was rather stumped as to how he figured out the card, the fire was fairly interesting too... I gave a quick glance around the deck, checking for something he could have used to help him.

Suddenly my eyes landed on something hovering above the ground just a few feet behind Damon. It was a Pokemon! He must have used some sort of move to help him figure out the card. I remembered reading up on a move called 'Mind Reader' that a few Pokemon could learn- maybe that was it. I just had to figure out which Pokemon it was.

I edged around the side of the vessel, straining my eyes to get a better look at the thing. It was certainly unlike any Pokemon I had read about in the Sinnoh libraries... maybe it was rare- no... there was something strange about that Pokemon... something that I couldn't quite place... Could it be that- no, that would be impossible- ghost Pokemon don't exist! Dark thoughts started to creep into my head again as I wondered if I was just imagining the floating Pokemon. Was I having another mental breakdown?

The creature looked like it used to be the husk of some bug-type Pokemon. It's black eyes just ghostly slits that stared blankly into the crowds around us, unmoving. There was also something strange about the back of the Pokemon- like some sort of malevolent energy was seeping out into the air, it almost felt that if I stared too far into the pitch black crevice I would be sucked right into it. I shivered at the the thought.

"This thing is _not_ real!" I told myself harshly. If it really was there then surely one of the other members of the crowd would have noticed it by now, at least one of them would have been perceptive enough to notice the floating husk, it wasn't even hidden.

That settled it, the apparition was definitely not real.

Hm, maybe all that therapy from the psychiatrist was helping. I mean, now that I could tell when something I was seeing isn't real- It would only be a matter of time before I stopped having these ridiculous hallucinations altogether.

With a sense of satisfaction I turned my eyes back to Damon, expecting him to be readying another trick or hitting on that Jessica chick. What I was not expecting was his bright green eyes to be staring straight back at me.

I suppose I wouldn't have minded his gaze if it had just been one of curiosity, or even one of mild discomfort, but he showed none of that. While his face remained neutral, his eyes betrayed a feeling of absolute shock. What the hell had I done to draw his attention? Did I do something crazy while looking at my hallucination? Was I speaking all my thoughts out loud? Question after question raced through my head as he continued to eye me up with that piercing green stare.

Suddenly his face snapped away from mine and back to a rather confused audience, "Uh, that'll be all for today folks!" he hastily spoke, the confident demeanor from before completely evaporated. "Something just came up and I gotta get to my room to deal with it real quick!"

He ran off the stage and towards the halls of the stage, leaving a rather dumbfounded audience and a rather shaken up me to gaze at his form as he ran towards the cabins.

What the hell did I do? I gave a heavy sigh as my curiosity began to outweigh my wish to not draw attention- I needed to know who the hell this guy was. I turned toward the cabins and began to chase after him, his fiery hair like a torch allowing me to easily keep track of him among the crowds of the ships.

As I continued to weave amongst the crowds of the S.S. Dawnbreaker in my desperate flight to keep up with Damon I came to realise that he was a damn sight faster than he looked. It must be something to do with his magician skills that gave him the unArceusly reaction times that he was employing to almost flawlessly duck in between the ship-goers, something that I was not so successfully doing. I would have been embarrassed as hell were it not for the adrenaline cascading through my body.

Suddenly I lost sight of the orange-haired magician, he must have gotten too far ahead. I gave a sigh of disappointment as I realised that my curiosity would not be sated. However, just as I began to slow down to a stop I felt hands reach out and grab my right arm, swiftly pulling me to the side and sending me spiralling into the floor of one of the cabins.

"Who the hell are you?"

I groaned, taking a moment to figure out exactly where I was before pushing my hair to the side and getting to my feet. Standing before me, green eyes looking even more shocked now that he had discovered I had chased him, was Damon.

"Well?" he asked fearfully, nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "What do you want from me? I have money- yes, quite a bit of money!"

"I-I just w-wanted to know why y-you ran from the stage," I stuttered, returned to an anti-social mess now that the adrenaline from the run had died down. "Y-you looked at m-me like I did something I-I wasn't s-supposed to."

The magician looked genuinely confused at my explanation of why I followed him, whether it was from what I said or my incapability to utter a syllable without stuttering I did not know.

"You mean- you're not a witch?" he asked, as if that was something reasonable to assume.

"N-no?" I said questioningly, rather taken aback at the strange bluntness of the question.

"So..." The fiery haired boy clasped his hands together rather awkwardly. "You weren't here to like, kill me or anything, you just wanted to know why I ran away from the stage?"

I just nodded my head.

"W-well that's a funny story really..." He scratched the back of his head, giving a strange sort of sideways smile, almost as if he was trying to pretend we were having a perfectly normal conversation and he hadn't just accused me of being a 'witch'. "You see... I- I get seasick! Yes, seasick! And-and I needed to use the bathroom to hurl but I was too embarrassed to tell anyone." He grinned confidently, as if he was satisfied with the explanation he had just given. Arceus he was strange- although I suppose I couldn't talk, I had just chased him into his cabin after all.

After a moment of silence Damon cleared his throat, "Alright, now that we've cleared all that up, we can leave my cabin and forget this little 'incident' ever happened. Okay?"

"O-okay." I agreed, now just wanting to leave the room and get out of the strange boy's presence.

"Excellent!" Damon moved toward the door to his cabin and holding it open. "Shall we?" He asked, motioning for me to leave before him.

"T-thanks." I managed to say before walking back out into the corridor, glancing behind me as Damon stepped out after me. After that the two of us just kind of stood there awkwardly, waiting for one of us to begin walking away so the other could immediately walk in the opposite direction. I was just about to begin heading to my right when suddenly I heard someone calling from further down the hall.

"Damon!"

It was that Jessica chick from before. I wanted to leave even more after I realised she was coming here, but Damon gave a look that was nothing less than a cry for help- and after a minor internal struggle, I decided to at least see how this played out... and try not to lash out at that obnoxious blonde.

"Damon!" Jessica smiled, "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Jessica!" Damon returned the smile, but now that I had talked to the guy, I could see that it was faked. "What can I help you with?"

"Oh, I just had one question for you, if you don't mind me asking of course," she replied, blue eyes sparkling.

"Go ahead, you can ask anything you want." The magician gave a wide grin, "How could I refuse a woman as beautiful as yourself."

Arceus that boy was charismatic. _T_ _oo_ charismatic. He knew exactly what to say to make people smile- not that I admired him for that, his constant pandering to Jessica's appearance was almost as annoying as the girl's constant giggling.

"Ok, do you think you could show me how to do one of your magic tricks?" Jessica asked, looking up at Damon innocently, "I would love to know how to do something so cool!"

"As I said before- A magician must have his secrets." He replied. These guy was full of cheesy lines.

"Awww." Jessica pouted. "Wait a second!" Her face suddenly lit up, "What if we have a Pokemon battle! If I win you have to teach me a magic trick! Your girlfriend over there can ref!"

I immediately went bright red at that, looking over at Damon I could see that his face had flushed with embarrassment as well.

"She's not my-"  
"He's not my-"

We both tried to explain at once but ended up cutting each other off.

"So you'll battle? Great!" Jessica chimed, tossing a Pokeball without waiting for an answer. "Go! Ignis!"

"Fennekin!"

A canine Pokemon leapt from the ball, baring its rather small fangs in Damon's direction. It had strange orange tuffs of hair protruding from its ears that just screamed 'I'm a fire type'.

"Alright then." Damon set his jaw, a Pokeball instantly appearing in his hand. To be honest, I thought that he would somehow talk his way out of this battle, but by the way his green eyes now shone with a hard determination I knew that he full well planned to win this battle.

"Go! Dynamo!"

"Abra!"

Now this was a Pokemon I had seen before- well, read about before. Back in Goldenrod there had been countless guides that all said the same thing- this little sucker can teleport all over the place.

"So this is a one on one battle, right?" Damon asked.

"That is correct!" Jessica chimed.

"Alright then, I suppose I should let the lady have the first move."

"Well how kind of you! Ignis, use ember!"

"Fen!"

The Fennekin let loose a small burst of fire directly toward the Abra.

"Dynamo, you know what to do!" Damon called out.

Rather than teleport away from the oncoming fire as I believed the Psi Pokemon would, it instead just sat completely still.

"Are you going easy on me just because I'm pretty?" Jessica asked, "Oh how gentlemanly of you!"

Damon grinned, "Oh I'm not going easy at all."

As the ember collided with Damon's Abra, instead of his Pokemon seeming to take any damage it instead just disappeared entirely.

"Huh?" Jessica said in surprise. "What happened?"

"Substitute happened," Damon explained, "It rolls out a clone of my Pokemon to distract you with while the _real_ magic is happening somewhere else! Dynamo, get off a point blank Psyshock!"

"Abra!"

Jessica's Fennekin cried out as Dynamo pelted it with a huge force of psychic energy. If that attack hadn't outright knocked the poor Pokemon out then it was damn well close to it.

"Ignis, honey, are you alright!" Jessica exclaimed. "You better come back into your pokeball, dear!" With that the blonde returned her battered Pokemon.

"You are aware you forfeited the match, right?" Damon asked, slightly confused.

"Oh yes! You were much too strong for me!" Jessica said. "Oh, I know what we should do! You should travel through Kalos with me, that way you could help me learn to get better at Pokemon battling!"

Oh dear. I almost couldn't stop myself from laughing as I saw the look of horror on Damon's face. That would truly be a horrible fate, trapped with _her_ throughout an entire trek of Kalos- if it were me deciding I would rather go through hell than have to suffer through that ordeal.

"Actually, I already promised I would be travelling with- er- her." My eyes widened as Damon pointed at me.

"Oh, but surely we could still travel together!" Jessica said, seeming rather disappointed.

"Actually, uh, she-" He gestured toward me again, "Gets really nervous in groups of three or more, so it'd have to be just us."

What the hell was this boy up to? I wasn't travelling with him! I didn't want to travel with anyone!

"Oh, ok..." Jessica sighed, "I guess I'll have to challenge you to a rematch some other time!"

"Yeah! I guess I'll see you then!" Damon replied, seeming exhausted from speaking to her for such a long period of time.

With that Jessica turned around and left toward the deck, leaving Damon and I behind to stand in an awkward silence for a while.

"Ahem." Damon cleared his throat, turning towards me. "I have a favour to ask of you."

"If you want me to travel with you, then no." I replied, a lot more forcefully than I thought I was capable of.

"Please, please, please!" Damon pleaded. "I'll do anything you want, _anything_. I swear on my life!"

"No."

"Come on, please! If that girl ever sees me travelling alone, I'll be stuck with her forever! Imagine what that would do to me!"

I sighed, I really didn't want anyone to travel with me- this was supposed to be an alone thing, a time for me to prove to myself that ghosts don't exist! But... maybe a friend would be useful, I mean- if I saw anything weird, I could ask Damon if he could see it too, then I would know if it was real or not... but still...

"Gah! Fine!" I said, "Meet me at Aquacorde harbour tomorrow at eight."

"Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou! You'll never regret this!" Damon yelled ecstatically.

I sure as hell hoped that I wouldn't.


	3. First Pokemon

**They Came Back to Haunt Me**

 **Chapter III: First Pokemon**

* * *

I stepped off the boat, breathing my first breath of Kalos air. This was it. If I could just survive my journey through this region I would be able to tell myself once and for all that ghost Pokemon do not exist. I would finally be able to put my ridiculous fears to rest- this was the most 'haunted' region in the world according to most tour guides, and if I didn't find any proof that ghosts existed here -which I wouldn't -then I would know for sure that ghosts didn't exist anywhere. Just like my psychiatrist had said, this was going to finally cure my mind and get mentality good and stable.

 _But what if you do see something?_

I pushed the thought to the back of my mind as I stepped onto the Aquacorde dock. I would see absolutely nothing except the tricks of my mind. Ghosts **didn't** exist, Ghosts are **not** real. I continued to tell myself that this was going to cure me- but that uneasy feeling that made me wonder if there really was anything to cure remained.

I tried to take my mind off of thoughts of ghosts by eyeing up my surroundings. When we arrived at the shores of the Kalos region, the ship had begun to take us down a wide river, travelling upstream until we arrived at Aquacorde town. The town itself was tiny compared to back home in Goldenrod city, only possessing a two dozen buildings or so, I couldn't even spot a Pokemon Centre amongst the stone structures that served as people's homes.

North of the town a cobblestone bridge stretched across the river, a path leading off toward a congregation of hundreds of dark and foreboding trees- Santalune Forest it was called, If I remembered correctly. The books I had read stated that the Pokemon that dwelled there were all harmless, but that didn't make the twisted branches look any less menacing.

Shifting my gaze from the forest I turned my attention back to the township. It would probably be a smart move for me to head there first, gather some food and supplies together in order to pass through the forest. I might even be able to get some information from the store owners- that is, if I actually summoned up the courage to ask around. Like that was going to happen. Mentally making sure I had all my things, I stepped off the dock and began the short walk to the town.

Suddenly I felt I hand grab my shoulder, "You weren't planning on ditching me, were you Katori?" Damon grinned, "I thought we had a deal?"

Oh shit. I forgot about the magician. "U-uh, I was just getting some supplies first." I explained, trying to pass off the slip in my memory. "Sorry."

"It's alright, no need to apologise." Damon assured me, releasing the grip on my shoulder. "You were just being proactive, trying to save us some time and stuff, I like that." He paused for a moment, "Well let's get moving then- I think there's a shop that sells Pokeballs up here."

"Okay." I said plainly, beginning to follow slightly behind Damon as he headed into the town.

As we moved I began to look around the homes, if I didn't know better I would have said the town was completely deserted- there wasn't a soul in sight. I mean, it was still quite early in the morning, most people would probably be asleep, but you would think that at least one person would be out doing something.

"Hey, Katori?" Damon called out, "Can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure." I replied, wondering what he would want to know.

"You saw me use my Abra against that Jessica chick yesterday." Damon said, "So since you know what Pokemon I have an all, I was just wondering, what Pokemon are you carrying with you?"

"Me?" I asked, rather taken aback by the question.

"No, I was asking the wind." He replied, a sideways smile revealing his sarcasm.

"Uh... I don't have any Pokemon." I said blankly.

"You don't have any Pokemon!" Damon repeated back to me, surprise evident on his face. "How the hell do you expect to get through the forest without a Pokemon! And what what about gym badges and contest ribbons? Why would you come here without any Pokemon?"

"I-I just didn't think I needed one." I stated, which was true. I was going to just walk through the forest without a Pokemon, I knew that everything in there was harmless so I didn't get one to protect me.. I also never planned to challenge any gyms or enter Pokemon contests- I was only here for one reason, to stop my crazy, and I didn't feel as if I needed a Pokemon to help with that.

"Alright, that settles what the goal is for today." Damon said with a sense of finality.

"What do you mean?" I asked, rather curious as to how the information I had revealed was going to change our plan.

The magician gave a sly smile. " _We_ are going to get _you_ a Pokemon."

* * *

"A-are you sure about this?"

The two of us were now in Santalune forest, lying on our stomachs beneath the cover of a bush. It was dark here in the forest, only a half dozen or so scattered patches of light allowed us to see at all beneath the twisting branches of the forest trees. Despite my initial protest, Damon had said that if we waited for long enough, a Pokemon would eventually show itself.

"Of course I'm sure." He gave another one of his grins. "Forests are full of Pokemon, we're bound to find something interesting here. Now be quiet or you'll scare the Pokemon away.

I sighed, I wanted to tell him that I didn't need a Pokemon, that I didn't come here to compete in gym battles or participate in contests, but I couldn't possibly tell him the real reason I was here. Just the thought of that... what would he think of me? He'd probably be scared off because of how crazy I was, not that I wanted him to stay or anything... it's just-

"Katori!" Damon harshly whispered, whipping his arm out to point at something. "Look over there!"

My eyes followed Damon's finger, searching for what he had spotted. Sure enough, there was something moving just a dozen or so metres from my position in the bush. It was blue in colour, a set of large yellow eyes perched atop its head, constantly looking around as the thing used its large hind legs to jump while it forage about. It seemed to be searching for food and as the creature got closer I noticed what seemed to be bubbles wrapped around its neck like a scarf.

"What do you think it is?" I asked, rather excited for someone who didn't want a Pokemon a moment ago.

"It looks like a Froakie." Damon observed. "I don't know of anything else that has bubbles all over its body."

Froakie... I recognised that name from a book somewhere. I believed it was a water type Pokemon, and judging from its blue colour and bubbly scarf, I was probably correct in saying that.

"How do we capture it?" I couldn't help but smile as I watched the Pokemon hop about. Despite what I said about not needing a Pokemon earlier, I reasoned that having this little guy alongside me wouldn't hurt at all.

"Normally we'd have to weaken it first- but since most of the Pokemon around here aren't super strong, I've got a better idea as to how we're going to do this." Damon explained.

I turned, raising eyebrow a curious eyebrow in an attempt to get him to explain further, but her just took of his bag and began to rummage around inside it. Upon finding whatever it was he was looking for, he looked up at me.

"Take these." He said, handing me some berries and a Pokeball. "They're oran berries, Pokemon love them. Go out there and try to get him to come closer to you with the berries, then when he starts to eat them, just toss the Pokeball."

"W-wait, why do I have to do this? I don't know how to use a Pokeball!" I protested, feeling a nervous lump begin to grow in my stomach.

"It's your Pokemon- you need to capture it, that's the first step in forming a bond with your Pokemon, if I went out and captured it then it would have no connection to you, it probably wouldn't even want to listen to you." Damon explained seriously.

"O-okay." I stammered, rather shocked at the usually grinning magicians speech.

"Oh, and using a Pokeball is easy." He said, his smile returning. "Just press the button in the middle to enlarge it and then just throw, the ball will do the rest of the work for you." He suddenly gave me a playful punch on the shoulder. "Now get out there and capture yourself a Pokemon!"

Returning Damon's excited grin, I gathered the berries in my right hand and the Pokeball in my left. Slowly, I got to my feet my grey eyes locking on to the Froakie that I hope would soon be mine.

It hopped to a nearby bush, using its tiny blue arms to push apart the leaves, rummaging around for food. While its back was turned I started to inch closer to it, not even daring to breathe as I readied myself, my right hand gripping the Pokeball even tighter than it already was. I wondered if Damon could tell that I was shaking with nerves.

"Just focus on the Froakie." I murmured to myself, pushing all thoughts of being watched from my mind.

I was close now, I could see each of its webbed toes spread wide as it jumped, if I got any closer I would probably be able to reach out and touch it- it was time, but I wasn't exactly sure if I was ready.

"Here Froakie!" I called to the Pokemon.

"Froakie!" It gave a yelp of surprise before leaping into the bush.

"No! Don't run away!" I yelled after it, eyes searching desperately for any sign of the water-type. "I have berries, look!" I tossed one of Damon's oran berries at the base of the bush, preying that the Froakie would come back for the food.

"Come on, I'm a friend." I called, more softly this time.

I waited for what felt like hours, but what couldn't have been more than thirty seconds for the Pokemon to come out of the bush and take the berry, but it just wouldn't show up. Perhaps I had scared the poor thing off for good...

Suddenly, a tiny arm whipped out from the bush, grabbing the berries and taking them in the blink of an eye. Sounds that could be only described as something eating began to emanate from the bush.

The Froakie was still here!

"Did you like that?" I called to the leaves. "I have more- if you want." I took another berry, tossing it again, but this time a little bit closer to where I was standing.

Sure enough, the Pokemon emerged from the bush, its yellow eyes staring warily into mine. With a burst of speed it grabbed the berry and rushed back into the bush, a few bubbles lingering behind it.

I repeated the process a few more times, tossing a berry and then watching curiously as it scurried out of the bush and then back in, each time getting a little bit closer to where I was standing- and each time moving a little bit slower and taking a little bit more time to eye me up before it retreated back to the bush. Perhaps the water-type Pokemon was just as curious of me as I was of it. That though amused me somewhat- perhaps we could both learn a thing or two from each other.

Eventually I was down to just a couple more berries and I was one more toss away from throwing the berries pretty much directly at my feet. It was time to get into the capture stage.

"Here, little guy!" I called, readying another of the blue berries- except this time I wasn't going to throw it.

I simply held out my arm, the berry planted in the middle of my palm, this was going to be the final phase of the plan, I just hoped that the Froakie had gained enough trust from me for this to work.

I waited expectantly, watching the bush for any signs of the tiny creature. Soon enough, it hopped out a little way, staring at my palm cautiously, I could almost see the mental battle going on inside the Pokemon's head- it really wanted the food but was also aware of the danger, I wondered if I could bring myself to capture it...

It hoped a little closer, its adorable yellow eyes shifting from the berry and locking with mine. It seemed to be studying me, deciding if it could trust me or not.

"Don't be afraid." I said, barely louder than a whisper. "I'm your friend, I promise."

I inched forward toward the Froakie, keeping the berry balanced in the centre of my palm. I even crouched down so I was kneeling, trying to bring myself as close to eye level with the Pokemon as I possibly could.

Suddenly it hopped the rest of the way toward me, looking up at me one final time before reaching for the food in my palm. This was my chance, while it was placing the food in its mouth it would be an easy capture. I enlarged the ball in my other hand, taking one last look at the Froakie before preparing the toss.

But just as I was about to throw the ball something stopped me, a sort of tugging at my conscience that prevented me from releasing the ball. How could I do this? This Pokemon had put its complete trust in me, potentially even risking its life because it thought that I was a friend- but all I was really doing was tricking it into capture. No, I wouldn't do this- I would capture it the same way I had made it come to me, with trust.

I lowered the Pokeball, gently placing beside the Froakie.

"You know what this is right?" I asked it, wondering if it could even understand me. "It's a Pokeball- if you press that button there-" I pointed toward the red and white sphere's centre, "You'll get to travel around Kalos with me, and I promise I'll feed you all the berries you want."

I stared into the Froakie's eyes, wondering how stupid I looked talking to something that probably didn't know how to understand, let alone speak english.

"But it's okay if you don't want to." I said further, "If you want to go back to your bush, you can. I'll give you the rest of the berries too."

I watched as the Froakie eyed up the Pokeball, it seemed to recognise it, maybe it had come from the town- I certainly didn't remember any mention of Froakie being around in Santalune forest.

"Froakie." It said simply, seeming as though it had come to a decision. It hopped over to the Pokeball and popped itself in, being enveloped by a strange red light before disappearing into the depths of the ball.

"You did it!" Damon exclaimed, leaping from his hiding spot in the bushes.

"You sound as if you didn't think I could do it..." I mumbled, trying not to reveal my bubbling excitement to the magician.

"Well I did have my doubts... and when you didn't throw the ball I thought you were crazy-" He suddenly stopped talking after he noticed my death stare. "Sorry." He said quickly.

"Whatever." I replied dismissively, looking at the Pokeball in my hand. It was hard to believe that there was a living, breathing thing curled up in there.

"It was pretty cool how you caught it though!" Damon grinned, "You didn't even have to use tricks or anything, you just got it to like you without even trying! I wish I was as charismatic as you!"

I couldn't help but laugh at that. Me? Charismatic? I don't think this Damon guy quite realised who he was travelling with.

"Hey! You do know how to laugh!" He said, playfully punching me on the shoulder. After we had both got control over our laughter he spoke again, "You were pretty awesome out there- seriously, I doubt many people could have got a Pokemon to trust them like that, let alone a wild one. You definitely have some talent."

I felt myself blushing at his praise, "Thanks." I said quietly, turning away from him to hide my reddening face.

"Why don't you let the little guy out?" Damon suggested, "Maybe even give him a nickname, of course you probably wont come up with something as cool as Dynamo..."

"Hmm." I looked at the Pokeball in my hand, wondering what to call my new friend. Hold on... did I even know what gender it was?

"Uh, I think I have a name." I said, hoping that my Froakie pal would be happy with it. Mimicking how Damon had released his Abra during the battle yesterday, I threw the Pokeball, giving a classic battle cry. "Go! Poseidon!"

"Froakie!" Poseidon leapt from the ball, yellow eyes scanning around the area, upon seeing Damon he gave a cry of alarm, immediately scurrying behind my legs.

"It's alright Poseidon." I said softly, "That's Damon, he's a friend."

"Froakie..." Poseidon croaked, coming out from behind me and inspecting the magician. He didn't seem to protest at being called Poseidon so I took that as a good sign.

"You know..." Damon began, reaching out to pet the small Pokemon, "The little guy kinda reminds me of you- all shy and stuff. It's kinda cute..."

I don't think I'd ever blushed as deeply as I did then, "What's that supposed to mean!?" I exclaimed.

Before Damon could come up with an answer a blonde girl with sparkling blue eyes emerged from the bushes. "Excuse me." She stated, clearing her throat, "But are you Damon Atlas?"

"Jessica!?" Damon shouted in surprise. "How the hell did you find me out here!?"

Oh fuck. Oh fucking fuckity fuck. It was Jessica, I thought- no, I prayed that I had seen the last of her when I stepped off the ship that got us here. I had really hoped she would be getting off on the other side of Kalos, or better yet, the other side of the world- but no, she had evidently followed us all the way into this forest. Although... looking at her closely, there was something rather 'off' about her, something that really didn't seem all that 'Jessica'.

"Hm, it is you." She stated plainly, "And you must be the girl that Damon said he was travelling with, the one that didn't like being in large groups?"

"Y-yes." I answered, rather confused.

"Well I'm here to apologise for my sister." The blonde girl stated, "She's a bit of a, well, a bit of a pain in the ass to put it mildly and I believe she caused you a bit of trouble yesterday, she's always meandering around, looking for people to make a fool of herself in front of. A real attention seeker she is."

"So you're not Jessica?" Damon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Fortunately for me, no I am not Jessica. However _un_ fortunately for me I am Jessica's twin sister- Bailey." She explained matter-of-factly. "Jessica has always been a bit of an embarrassment to the family- I do my best to keep her under control, but she's just always getting into trouble- takes after Mother on that front."

Bailey gave a tiresome sigh.

"Well, I hope she didn't cause you too much discomfort and if all goes well for you two, you probably won't have to deal with her again." She suddenly turned on her heel, blonde hair whipping around like a veil of mist. "Oh, also-" She turned her head to look at us, "I would get out of these woods before nightfall, people have been going missing, rumour has it there's a ghost on the loose." With that Bailey walked off, disappearing into the bush as quickly as she came.

"Well she was a royal bitch." Damon said venomously. "I mean, sure I don't really like Jessica- in fact I kinda agreed with the pain in the ass bit, but to say that about your own sister..." A dark look crossed the magician's face, as if he was remembering something painful. "And what was that about a ghost? Surely she doesn't believe in ghosts. What do you think Katori?"

I didn't reply at first. I was too busy trying to talk myself out of a panic attack- there was no way a ghost could be here. They were myths, stories that parents told their children to make sure they did as they were told. It must just be local superstition to explain a tragic event- just like I had done with my own parents. Ghosts weren't real, they didn't exist, they _couldn't_ exist.

"Katori? Are you alright?" Damon asked, a look of concern on his face.

"Oh?" I looked up, shaking the thoughts from my head. "Uh, yeah, ghosts aren't real, she's probably just trying to scare us or something." I said, not even sure I believed it myself.

"Yeah, you're right." Damon replied, seeming satisfied with my answer. "There is absolutely no way a ghost could exist."

It was then that we heard the scream.


	4. The Blind Hunter

**They Came Back to Haunt Me**

 **Chapter IV: The Blind Hunter**

* * *

 **Katori's Current Pokemon**

 **Poseidon** (Froakie)  
Ability: Protean  
Moves: Bubble, Mud Sport, Camouflage, Quick Attack

* * *

 **Kalos Region : Santalune Forest - South of Route 3**

* * *

The scream was like nothing I had ever heard. This wasn't your classic teenager screaming on an amusement park ride scream- this was a blood curdling sound of raw terror. I could hear the sounds of pure fear emanating all over the forest- and suddenly there seemed nothing I could do to keep myself from being overwhelmed by the feeling. I was gripped in the jaws of terror so tight that there was no room to move, no way of escaping the horrific jaws that threatened to swallow me.

Everything that I had told myself just a moment before melted away. All that self-reassurance that ghosts weren't real was crushed by that malevolent scream- nothing short of a ghost could cause a human to make a sound like that, suddenly it didn't seem so silly that I had lived in fear of the spirits for so long, because now it was very likely that there was one here with us.

 _Katori!_

I couldn't handle this. What about the thing in the chandelier? That twisted, horrifying creature that had plagued my nightmares for the last six years, the thing that just kept showing up every time I had convinced myself that ghosts could not be real. Had it somehow followed me here? Would it never release me from its deadly grip? No. No! I needed it to leave me alone! I needed it to go away! I didn't want this _thing_ controlling my life anymore!

"Katori!"

I felt myself ripped out of my terrified state and back into reality. Damon was standing in front of me, shaking my shoulders vigorously in attempt to snap me out of whatever it was that was going through my head.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" I quickly shouted, taking a step back. "That noise just scared me a little."

Damon gave me another look of concern before staring off in the direction of the scream. "We should probably go check out what happened." He said, his expression taking a much darker tone.

"Are you crazy?!" I yelled, "That wasn't the sound of someone falling over in surprise, that scream was _real_. Who knows what could be over there? I say we run back to the town and alert the cops- they'll deal with it."

Damon stared back at me. "I know for a fact that no one has seen any dangerous Pokemon out here in- well- forever." He stated, telling me something that I had already researched myself. "And while I admit, I don't know exactly what could be out there, and I'll also admit that I'm afraid, I know that whoever made that scream is in trouble, and that if we don't go over there and help them now, the police might not be able to do anything later."

I just stared back at him, my body still shivering in terror, my mind going back to what Bailey had said about a ghost. Could it really be a ghost? The way Bailey had said it made me instantly assume she was just trying to screw with us, but what if there was some truth to what the arrogant trainer had said? What if there really were missing people from the town?

What if the thing in the chandelier was _real_.

I began to open my shaking mouth to speak, but before I could get a syllable out Damon's voice cut in, "Are you with me or not?" He asked impatiently, after a brief pause his expression softened a little, "If you're really scared I suppose I could hold your hand."

Upon seeing my look of confusion at his words a smile instantly broke out across his face and I could see him struggling to control his laughter.

"Ass." I said plainly, giving my magician companion a swift punch on the shoulder before tearing of into the bush ahead of him, ready for whatever nightmare we were going to face.

* * *

"There's n-nothing here..." I stuttered the painfully obvious.

Damon and I had run in the direction of the voice for nearly fifteen minutes before coming out into a clearing. We had searched every rotted stump and every bit of shrubbery in an attempt to find the source of the scream, but there was nothing. No sign that any life had been here- person or Pokemon, it was rather eerie to see a place so untouched by sentient life, just a spiraling tangle of roots and vines, suffocating the soil and strangling out any light that attempted to breach the forest canopy.

We were truly alone- but that fact did little to ease the rising panic building up in my stomach.

"Poseidon, come on out." I muttered, barely louder than a whisper, hoping that the little guy would bring me some comfort.

"Froak..." The blue Pokemon croaked, surveying the area for no more than a second before deciding to scurry behind my legs. Apparently even my Pokemon was gripped in the same vines of unease that held me.

"That's not possible..." Damon muttered. "I definitely heard something coming from around here..." He held his chin in thought, "Maybe I was just hearing things? No- that wouldn't work, you heard the sound too." He looked toward me skeptically and I wondered what the hell he was thinking about. "Could there really be another here?"

"Another?" I raised a questioning eyebrow toward Damon.

"Oh, uh- nothing." He stammered. "I'm just talking to myself about... stuff and things. No need to worry."

 _Snap._

My head whipped around at the sound of twigs breaking. Suddenly the eerie tranquility of the place seemed to shatter around me. This clearing that originally seemed so untouched, so devoid of life that only plants had ever seen it before, didn't seem so alone.

 _Snap._

I looked towards Damon as another twig broke, ever so slightly closer than before. The magician's piercing green eyes were searching the brush around us frantically, trying to get a glimpse of whatever was out there.

 _Snap._

The sound was so close now- barely at the edge of the clearing. Whatever was out there was only just covered by the greenery, if it got any closer it would be in full view. I stared hard at the spot where the last stick had broken, straining my ears in a desperate effort to identify whatever it was that had drawn so near. Dark thoughts flew through my head as I wondered if the scream was just a trick, a bait to get unsuspecting travelers like Damon and I to fall into a trap.

Wait... I could hear something. I crouched lower to the ground, never taking my eyes off of the place where the thing had last been. I held my breath, feeling Poseidon's soft blue arms wrapped around my leg- whatever was out there was making him incredibly fearful.

Then I heard it, the sound that I had identified before- it was a low hum, no- it was a growl. A deep and guttural noise that rumbled low at the base of the thing's throat- there was no mistaking that. Whatever was out there- it knew we were here.

 _Gargh!_

A streak of black leapt from the brush, causing Poseidon to back away from my leg in a flash. The thing came to a stop just a metre before the place where I stood, its four paws planted firmly, ready to pounce again- and I didn't like the looks of my chances of survival if it did.

Suddenly the dark-furred beast turned its attention to Damon. It moved so quickly my eyes could barely follow- it knocked Damon onto the ground, pinning him beneath its dagger-like claws, mouth turned downward in a vicious snarl. It's teeth were like knives and I had no doubt that Damon's throat was not going to be in very good condition if the creature decided to bite.

"Alpha, stand down."

A voice called calmly from a short distance behind me. Turning around I noticed a boy, his dark grey eyes staring directly at me through his shoulder-length hair, as black as the creature's fur.

"Yena..." The beast grunted as it moved off of Damon, allowing him to scramble back to his feet.

"Who in Arceus's name are you?" The Magician yelled toward the stranger.

"You know, at first I thought the attacks were from a rogue spirit..." The dark haired boy mused, completely ignoring Damon's question. "They were far too predictable- a nature spirit attacking hunters, seemed normal..." He let out a brief laugh, "But to think there was a witch, behind all this? I am rather curious of the motive..."

I looked at the boy in shock. What was he even saying? Nature Spirits? Witches? What in the world was he talking about? I glanced toward Damon wondering if he held the same confusion as me, but instead of the expected look of bewilderment his face held an expression of fear.

"W-what are you talking about?" Damon asked, seeming to regain at least some of his composure. "Witches? You can't be serious."

The stranger chuckled to himself. "Oh I think you know I am quite serious. But..." His grey eyes still hadn't moved from when he had first entered the clearing- almost as if he didn't need them to see. "The real question is whether or not the girl is in on the show." He turned toward the black creature that was still staring threateningly at Damon. "What do you think, Alpha?"

"Yena..." The beast barked.

"Hmm... I agree."

"W-what are you talking about. W-who are you?" I stammered out, more than a little bit scared. Had this boy been the cause of the scream we had heard earlier?

"Oho! My apologies, I've just barged in here and didn't even introduce myself. The name's Idris, and as I'm sure you can tell- I'm completely blind." He pointed to his eyes, giving off a short laugh. "But my Mightyena here..." He motioned toward where the dog-like Pokemon stood, "Serves as my eyes- and my _eyes_ have reason to believe that your friend here is a witch."

"You're joking..." Damon scoffed, "You're bat shit insane, coming in here and attacking me with that hound of yours and then accusing me of being a- what was it again?- ah yes, a witch."

"You can talk all you want, Alpha's nose doesn't lie- you've got ghost smell all over you." Idris replied. "And if you don't stop these attacks and return the missing hunters to safety, I think Alpha might get a bit hungry."

"Yena." The Mightyena gave a low snarl.

"Wait!" I yelled, causing the Mightyena to stop its growling. "There's no way Damon could have made anyone go missing- he only arrived here today and I've been travelling with him ever since!"

"Hmm." The dark-haired boy placed a hand on his chin, "Alpha?"

"Mightyena!"

"Alright, so the girl isn't lying... but that ghost smell is still a piece that won't seem to go away..." Idris clasped his hands together, seeming to come to a conclusion. "Okay. Damon, is it? I want you to tell me that you didn't kidnap those people."

"I didn't kidnap those people!" Damon shouted. "Why the hell do you think I did?"

"Yena!"

"Hmm. So it seems you didn't summon the spirit- perhaps it is rogue after all..." Idris laughed, "Ah, that must be it- did you two hear a sound that lead you to this clearing?"

"Uh, yes." Damon said plainly. "A scream, we thought someone was in trouble."

"Well, my friends, that _someone_ was a Pumpkaboo." The blind boy smiled, seemingly satisfied that he had solved the mystery.

"A Pumpkaboo?" I asked, picking my Froakie up into my arms. "That's a ghost Pokemon, isn't it? They're just myths- stories that parents tell their children to stop them from going too far into the forests."

Idris chuckled, "Ghost Pokemon are no more myth than your little Froakie over there, and besides- if ghost Pokemon _weren't_ real then I wouldn't get paid."

"Look." Damon walked towards Idris, who despite being much scrawnier and an inch or two shorter seemed to be much more intimidating. "I don't know who you are, or what you do for a living but I'm getting bored of your 'mysterious' act, just tell us what you think is going on."

"Alright, alright, I'm getting to that." Idris grinned. "Now, get comfortable and try not to get too scared- whether you believe me or not, that's a whole other story..."

"Just get to it." Damon interrupted impatiently.

"When you arrived in Aquacorde Town, did you notice that no one was outside? Well that's because the mayor put a curfew up, three hunters and a little girl have gone missing from the town- all late at night or in the early hours of the morning." Idris explained.

"So where does Pumpkaboo come into this?" I asked, curiosity overtaking my fear.

"Pumpkaboo are nature spirits." Idris stated plainly. "They aren't dangerous in that they directly attack people, but they can imitate the sounds of humans to lure people in- then they move the trees."

"Did you just say-" Damon began, but was immediately cut off.

"Yes, they shift the trees around, cause their targets to get lost- and eventually starve to death or go insane to the point where they off themselves." Idris grinned.

"S-so what you're s-saying is..." I began.

"Yep, we're totally lost." Idris laughed.

There it was again, that panic- the overbearing truth of the possibility of ghost Pokemon existing was threatening to overwhelm me.

"Katori, we're fine." Damon said firmly. "This guy is crazy- there's no such thing as a 'Ghost' Pokemon, he's just trying to mess with us, don't let it get to you."

Yeah... that made sense, that must be it. This Idris guy was just a strange blind kid who got a kick out of scaring the shit out of people. Ghost Pokemon didn't exist, the thing in the Chandelier was nothing more than my imagination, my parents died in an accident and there was nothing at all malicious about it... just my crazy little head making me think so.

Idris once again let out a laugh. "Yeah, I thought you wouldn't believe me... but that doesn't matter. It's not like we're in danger anyway, I've dealt with plenty of Pumpkaboo before and as long as you stick with me- we'll get through this."

"No way." Damon said firmly. "We're not letting you scare us with anymore of your tricks- come on Katori, let's get out of here." He got up to leave, heading to the edge of the clearing, upon seeing that I hadn't moved he raised an eyebrow. "Katori?"

"Actually- it's getting dark already." I replied, "This clearing is a good place to set up camp anyways- so we may as well stick with this guy." I didn't know what it was that made me want to hang around- I knew Damon was right, that we should leave, but something told me it was a bad idea to not give this Idris guy a chance.

"Your girlfriend's smart." Idris grinned at Damon. "I'd listen to her if I were you."

"We're not...!" Damon and I both began to say at the same time.

"Whatever." Idris waved us off. "But you should get a fire going, we still have a few hours before I can deal with the Pumpkaboo."

* * *

I stared at the fire Damon and I had prepared, watching the flames rise and fall as they consumed the wood. It was dark now- the only source of light being the fire that blazed in front of me. Poseidon seemed to like it- he was curled up in my lap, snoring quietly with each rise and fall of his tiny chest.

I felt a shiver go down my spine as I wondered if the Pumpkaboo was actually going to show up. Would I really be seeing a ghost Pokemon tonight? Idris seemed completely sincere when he had explained why the hunters had gone missing- but that didn't change the fact that he also seemed to be insane. Although I guess I couldn't talk.

Suddenly, Idris got up from where he was seated on the other side of the fire.

"It's time." He said simply, snapping a branch from a nearby tree and lighting one of its ends on fire.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm going to light the clearing on fire." He replied simply.

"You're going to what!?" Damon was up now, running toward Idris as quickly as his legs could carry him. "You're going to kill us all!"

"I doubt that." He said, and tosses the flaming stick into the brush.

The greenery went up easily, and in no time at all, what was originally a small fire had quickly turned into a raging maelstrom of flame. If the fire wasn't stopped soon, the entire Santalune forest would be burnt to a crisp.

"Go! Mizu!" Idris called, tossing a Pokeball into the air. "Use Hydro Pump to keep this fire under control!"

"Greninja!" What looked like a much stronger and faster version of my Froakie erupted from the Pokeball and began to stream a jet of water into the flame, just enough to stop it from spreading, but not enough to let it reduce in size.

"Froak..." Poseidon watched in awe as the other water-type Pokemon worked, effortlessly firing off the stream of water several times the size of the little Froakie.

Suddenly Idris began to yell out into the forest. "Pumpkaboo, I know you can hear me!" He said, lifting another flaming stick. "If you don't show yourself within the next ten minutes, I'm going to burn your precious forest into the ground!"

There was a moment of quiet, where nothing could be heard except the sounds of the raging fire- ever threatening to consume the forest in its terrible blaze. As I looked over at Idris's Greninja I could see that he was struggling to keep up the Hydro Pump- it wouldn't be long before the frog Pokemon had to let up the torrent of water- and then the blaze would become far too large for it to control.

"Hmph." Idris sneered, raising the burning stick. "I guess I better throw this one in too."

Just as the blind boy raised his arm to throw the stick there was an explosion of light- I saw Idris go flying as the stick clattered from his hand and into the fire Mizu was still struggling to control.

"Pump... ka... **boo!** "

A ball of swirling shadows began to head towards the place where Idris lay, flying at a speed that would be much too fast for the blind trainer to dodge.

"Dynamo, teleport in front of the attack!" Damon called, releasing his Abra from the Pokeball at his belt.

"Abra!" The Psi Pokemon warped immediately, taking the ball of darkness straight to the face. The shadows immediately enveloped Damon's Pokemon, exploding outwards and sending it collapsing into the ground- unable to battle any longer.

"Pumpka..."

I could see the ghost Pokemon now, hovering at the edge of the clearing. It strongly resembled the jack o' lanterns that would sit in the window's of people's homes around halloween- except this jack o' lantern was alive and it had now turned its attention to Damon.

"Pump..." It began to chant as it charged another of its shadowy attacks- but it was interrupted by a cry from the now conscious Idris.

"Alpha! Use Odor Sleuth to find it and follow up with a crunch!" He commanded, dark hair whipping at his face.

"Yena!" The Mightyena gave a battle cry before leaping into the air, its mouth opened wide and crackling with a dark energy. It collided with the Pumpkaboo, chomping down hard and knocking it out of the sky before it could launch off another shadow ball.

"Now don't let it escape!" Idris yelled, "Hold it in place with a mean look!"

"Mi..." Alpha barked, it's eyes shimmering with a ghostly energy as tendrils of shadow reached out and held the Pumpkaboo in place, attaching it to the dog Pokemon who was now snarling.

I watched on, a mix of fear and aw coursing through me as the Mightyena fought to keep the Ghost Pokemon on the ground. Idris pulled what seemed to be some sort of black stone from his jacket, holding it up toward the Pumpkaboo and beginning to chant.

" _Spiritus, flectere voluntatem meam!_ "

With a flash of light the Pumpkaboo disappeared, the stone that Idris held pulsed a dark purple once... then twice... and then a third time before going still. After a brief moment to catch his breath, Idris placed to dark rock under his boot and crushed it.

"Fucking tree huggers." He cursed.

* * *

Shortly after Idris's Greninja had put out the fire (with a little help from Poseidon) I approached the blind trainer, wanting to sate my curiosity on a few things before we parted ways.

"W-what's going to happen to those people that went missing?" I asked- almost afraid to know the answer.

"When I destroyed the stone, all of Pumpkaboo's illusions go with it- all the hunters should make it back safely." He said reassuringly, "The one's that are still alive, that is."

"Oh..." I said simply, wondering if I should be glad at the revelation. Deciding to try and put the ghastly matter behind me I changed the subject. "So what happens now?"

"Well I go back to Aquacorde and tell the Mayor that the deed has been done... I'm sure he'll pay handsomely for my services..." He then placed a hand into his jacket, "You two lovebirds will be able to carry on with your journey, heading to Santalune City, I assume?"

"We're not-" I started to protest at his use of the word 'lovebirds' but once more he cut me off.

"Anyway, I figured I can't take all the credit- that Damon's Abra saved me from a pretty hefty hit." He said, he seemed amused at the idea of the tiny Pokemon saving him. "Well anyway, as thanks I thought I would give you this."

He withdrew his arm from the folds of his jacket and handed me a pale stone- a bright blue streak splitting it down the middle.

"What is it?" I asked, intrigued.

"I dunno- it looks kinda cool though." Idris replied, smiling. "Well I best be going then." He got up to leave but I grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Will we see you again?" I asked, wondering why I'd say something like that.

Idris just chuckled, "If you have any luck, no."

And with that, he disappeared into the brush, Mightyena trailing after him.


	5. The Pilfering Pair

**They Came Back to Haunt Me**

 **Chapter V: The Pilfering Pair**

* * *

 **Katori's Current Pokemon**

 **Poseidon** (Froakie)  
Ability: Protean  
Moves: Bubble, Mud Sport, Camouflage, Quick Attack

* * *

 **Kalos Region : Route 3 - Just South of Santalune City**

* * *

It was just a few minutes past midday and I could practically feel my skin melting beneath the will-draining heat. Every few steps I silently pleaded with the sun to let up for just a few moments, but the burning bastard seemed to glowing with joy as I suffered along the dirt path.

I found myself wishing Damon hadn't suggested we get a few winks of sleep before leaving for Santalune. The few moments of shut-eye I actually had managed to achieve were plagued with nightmares, resulting in me feeling even more bloody tired than I had been before I laid down. Oh, yeah, now I remembered, apparently ghost Pokemon were fucking real too. All this talk about a trip to Kalos being a good thing for me and then Idris comes along with his ghost-busting kit and completely destroys any shred of sanity I had left.

It was honestly surprising that I hadn't broken down into a panic attack right about now. Although I was probably too tired and hungry to even care. Oh well, there would be plenty of time for crying myself to sleep at a later date. All that mattered now was getting to Santalune so I could get some real food and a real bed and then I could debate whether or not I should just pack up and go back home to Sinnoh.

What a mistake this whole damn thing has been.

I looked down at my hands and realised I was clutching the stone Idris had given me back in the forest. My eyes ran over it, admiring the strange twist of blue that weaved its way through the clear material. The thing had a sort of soothing presence. I betted even Idris could have admired its beauty, even with his lack of sight.

"Fuck!" I cursed as my foot struck hard on a fist-sized protrusion in the path, causing me to tumble over and onto the ground, the stone flying out of my hands in the process. I could feel the skin covering my kneecaps come away in sheets, even through my jeans, the pain bringing tears to my eyes.

Ghost Pokemon were real.

My parents didn't die in an accident.

It was finally setting in just how real this whole situation was. I wasn't insane. The chandelier that had... _spoken_ to me all throughout my child hood wasn't just an inanimate object that I had somehow personified after the flames burned my mother and father alive. No, that malevolent force that I couldn't see, but _feel_ , was real. Whatever sick and horrifying thing had taken refuge in that chandelier had convinced me to let it out, and in the process I had killed all the family I had ever known.

The tears no longer stuck in my eyes seemed to flow in rivers. All the emotion I had tried to keep locked during and after the confrontation with the Pumpkaboo came pouring out in one giant burst. I felt around for Idris's stone, groping it in my hand for comfort. It seemed to be the only thing I had.

"Katori!"

I looked up from the muddied ground, squinting as Damon's fiery hair came into view.

"Holy crap, Katori!" he exclaimed again, "Are you alright?"

I tried to say I was fine, that we could just keep going but the words lodged in my mouth. As if my tears were a red sea that simply refused to part.

"Come on, I'm gonna lift you onto the grass," Damon said softly, placing his hands around my stomach. "Okay?"

I nodded my head, still staring at his ginger locks. Unlike the assault of light from the sun, Damon's hair seemed to provide a warm glow, like a campfire in one of Snowbelle city's cabins.

With a heave, Damon pulled me up onto my feet, removing one arm from around my abdomen and wrapping it around my shoulders in an attempt to support me. I expected to feel flustered and nervous, part of my body was even telling me to push him away, but for the most part... I felt at ease. Even as tears fell into the thin sleeves of Damon's shirt, I felt like this was okay.

I sat down on the thick grass on the side of the road. Damon didn't speak, something I was greatly appreciative of, and began to rummage through his backpack for a moment before removing some thick white cloth.

He shifted towards me, beginning to wind the cloth around my bloodied knees, holding back the blood that seemed to flow even more easily than my tears. He remained focused on the task, his eyes not moving from the makeshift bandage once as his magician's hands skillfully weaved the material around and around my legs.

Once he was finished he caught my gaze, "I know what happened back there was... fucked," he began, his joking charm replaced with sincerity, "And if you don't want to say anything about it then that's fine. The plan for now is to just eat some food, drink some water and sit here for as long as you need too."

I spent a moment getting my eyes dry with the sleeve of my jacket as Damon rummaged around in his pack and brought out food. He handed me a sandwich, something I gratefully accepted after having almost no food in the past day.

"Thanks Damon." I managed a smile, even if only a brief one. "It's just... a hell of a lot to take in."

The magician ran a hand through his hair, seeming to think for a moment. "You know," He began, "I actually have a theory that this whole incident proves nothing about whether or not ghost Pokemon exist."

I gave him a sceptical look. As much as I wished that were true, what we had seen was far too much evidence.

"No, really, think about it," he continued, "There are plenty of Pokemon out there with the power to create tricks and illusions. Zorua, for example."

I felt a surge of hope run through me at that, but it was quickly diminished as I realised the flaw in Damon's reasoning. "But why would he go to such a length just to scare a couple of kids?"

"Easy." Damon grinned confidently, "Advertising."

"What?" I raised an eyebrow, my brain a mess of fear, confusion and curiosity.

"Well, for a start, no one believes in ghosts right?- well, most people don't. So you'd think it would pretty hard for this guy to actually earn any money." Damon spoke slowly, as if he were a teacher in school. "Well, if he puts on a little illusion show like that..."

"Then we go away believing that ghosts exist." I finished, understanding now. That still didn't explain the missing people, but... hang on, we never actually heard of any missing people until we came across Idris in the forest!

I gave a loud sigh of relief, feeling the fear that had had gripped me so tightly just a moment ago release its hold. I had just overreacted a bit, that was all. This Idris guy probably wasn't even blind.

I took another bite into my sandwich and then looked over at Damon. I was rather surprised to see his gaze downcast, as if he was deep in thought.

"Are you alright?" I asked, giving him a punch on the shoulder, "For someone who did such a good job at lightening the mood just before you seem a little troubled." I didn't really know why I had asked the red-head that. I never tried to instigate conversation. In fact, if it was anyone else I probably would have preferred them to be in a non-talkative mood, but with Damon it just didn't seem right.

He looked up from the ground, "Yeah, I'm just thirsty is all. I think I left my backup water bottle on the ship."

At the mention of water I realised that I could probably go for some myself, my throat was gonna become drier than the Hoenn Deserts if I didn't get hydrated soon.

I moved toward my pack, unzipping it and searching for my bottle, "I got a spare one in here somewhere that you can use for now," I called over my shoulder. "If I could even find it that is..." I mumbled as I realised it wasn't in the pocket I had just opened. Strange, I could have sworn it was I had packed it there.

"One step ahead of you," Damon said from behind me. I turned my head wondering what the hell he was in about when I saw what he had in his hands- the twat had stolen both my drink bottles.

"How the hell did you even get those?" I asked, mildly annoyed, but still smiling nonetheless.

"A magician must have his secrets..." he played out the cheesy line with a wink at the end.

I couldn't help but start laughing. "You're such an ass. Now give me one of those, I'm thirsty too!"

Damon readied his arm to pass the bottle toward me, but just as he let go the container disappeared.

"Damon!" I yelled, "Where the hell did you make it go?"

But Damon seemed just as surprised as I was. "I don't know!" he protested, "I just had it here like this..." he began to demonstrate with the other bottle, "and then it was just gone!" The moment he said the words the second bottle seemed to just blink out of existence, but this time I saw a tuft of grey fur go with it.

My head darted to the left and I spotted the treacherous thieves that had taken our water. A grey, rabbit-like Pokemon was hopping frantically along the path alongside another yellow-furred creature that must have been responsible for the disappearance of the first bottle.

"There!" My arm shot out like a magnet toward the escaping Pokemon. I immediately reached for the Pokeball at my belt, "Poseidon, after those Pokemon!"

"Froaaaakie!" The water-type seemed to understand exactly what to do and the two of us set off at a sprint after the thieves.

"Get back here with my water!" I yelled out towards the scoundrels. "I need that!"

I moved as quickly as my short limbs would carry me, but I was quickly realising that my body wasn't really designed to do this whole 'running' thing. I looked over at Posidon who was hopping just slightly ahead of me, he seemed to be struggling almost as much as I was.

"Come on buddy," I encouraged, "We can't let them get away!" I knew it was useless though, the other two Pokemon were getting further and further ahead. We were going to lose the water.

"Dynamo, teleport in front of those thieves!" a voice yelled from behind me.

It was Damon and Dynamo.

"Abra!" the Psy Pokemon growled as it blinked in front of the escapees, startling them and halting them in their tracks. The surprised pair swiftly turned and attempted to move in the opposite direction but Poseidon and I were there to cut them off, Damon arriving shortly after.

"Give it up! We have you surrounded!" Damon yelled toward the pair. "Give us the drink bottles or- ohmygod."

"What?" I looked toward the magician as he cut his speech short.

"I think..." He whipped out his Pokedex and aimed it at the creatures.

 _Bunnelby, the Cheek-Pouch Pokemon._ _It has ears like shovels. Digging holes strengthens its ears so much that they can sever thick roots effortlessly._

 _Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon. It keeps its tail raised to monitor its surroundings. If you yank its tail, it will try to bite you._

"Yes!" he exclaimed in excitement, "I knew it! I've always wanted a Pikachu!" he tossed a Pokeball to me before readying one of his own, "You go for the Bunnelby. Let's capture ourselves some Pokemon."

I looked at the Pokeball in fear, a lump forming in my throat. "You mean, you want me to battle?" I asked Damon, but he had already turned his attention to the Pikachu.

"Alright Katori, you can do this." I reassured myself, "You've seen this done hundreds of times back in Sunnyshore, now you just have to do it yourself."

With an only slightly wavering voice I called out to my Pokemon, "Poseidon, use Water Gun on that Bunnelby!"

"Froa?" Poseidon looked up at me in confusion. After an angry gesture toward the Bunelby he seemed to understand what I wanted. "Froaaaakie!" he cried as he let lose a jet of water toward the grey-furred creature. The attack seemed laughable compared to what I had seen Idris's Greninja do, but it was still an attack nonetheless.

Past the Bunnelby, I saw Damon's Abra begin to charge its Psyshock attack. The two thieving Pokemon were caught with nowhere to run, both our attacks were guaranteed to hit.

And then it all went to hell.

In one fluid motion, the Pikachu pulled the Bunnelby up onto its head, easily avoiding Poseidon's stream of water. The Bunnelby then braced its powerful hind limbs and vaulted off its yellow companion, heading straight towards Dynamo.

"Dynamo, teleport!" Damon called frantically, but it was much too late. Dynamo, still concentrating on the Psyshock was given a forceful kick to the face, knocking it out of levitation.

"What the hell was that!" the Magician exclaimed, "Wild Pokemon aren't supposed to work together! Especially those of another species!"

"Pika!"

"Bunn!"

The wild Pokemon gave confident growls as they resumed their battle stances, back to back with the bottles of water in between them. They each looked as if they were guarding some ancient treasure.

"Damon, what do I do?" I called out to the red-head, but he seemed to be just as at a loss as I was. He was certainly correct when he said that wild Pokemon weren't supposed to be this strong, yet alone be smart enough to work in tandem with a member of another species.

I whipped out my Pokedex and frantically scanned my Froakie in a desperate attempt to figure out a move that could save us. What could I do? If I tried to Water Gun again then I would be opening Poseidon up to one of those scary strong joint attacks, Quick Attack would put him much too close- and I doubted my Pokemon would want to be within arms reach in a two versus one.

Of course! That was why the wild Pokemon were having such an easy time throwing us around. Damon and I were fighting with two separate Pokemon, while the Pikachu and Bunnelby were working together. Essentially they were fighting two separate two on ones.

"Pika!" The Mouse Pokemon's cheeks began to spark with electricity and I could see the Bunnelby getting ready to back it up. Both had their eyes dead set on Dynamo.

"Damon, start charging psyshock!" I called out, hoping that he would listen to my somewhat crazy plan.

"But they'll hit Dynamo!" he protested, "I need to teleport him out of there!"

"Just trust me," I spoke, using more confidence than I ever had in my life. "I'm like sixty percent sure I know what I'm doing," I continued, a little less sure of myself that time. But it was too late too change my mind now.

Damon nodded, "You heard her Dynamo, use Psyshock!"

"Abra." Dynamo seemed to be struggling a bit from the attack he had suffered from before. If I had overestimated the Psy Pokemon's remaining strength then it would be immediately knocked out. I just had to pray that Dynamo had enough strength to hold on.

"Pika..." The Pikachu leapt into the the air, electricity now shooting off it like tiny lightning bolts.

"Nelby!" The Bunnelby joined the Mouse Pokemon, but instead of continuing the jump toward Damon's Pokemon it twisted in midair and kicked its friend, propelling it even faster as it hurtled towards Dynamo.

"Now Poseidon!" I yelled, "Cover Dynamo in a Mud Sport!"

"Frooooooaaaaa!" Poseidon dug its powerful hind legs into the dirt, flinging a torrent of mud toward the Abra who was swiftly smothered in the brown substance.

"Chuuuuu!" the yellow-furred Pokemon finished its battle cry, completely cloaking itself in electricity just before slamming into Dynamo.

"Abraaa!" Dynamo cried out in pain as the full force of the attack once again sent him flying into the dirt. Shit, that wasn't supposed to happen.

"Dynamo!" Damon cried out.

"Bra..." With a heavy grunt, the Abra managed to lift itself off the ground, shaking from the previous attack- but now glowing with psychic energy. And it looked pissed. "Abra!"

The Pikachu let out a yelp of surprise as it was pelted with glowing spheres of power. It was knocked off balance, arms flailing around wildly as it attempted to regain its footing.

"Finish it off with a Water Gun, Poseidon!" I called, grinning like a madman at my triumph.

"Froak!" Poseidon cried with glee as it accelerated toward the weakened Pikachu before slamming into it, toppling it over for good.

"Nice!" Damon yelled with a mixture of excitement and what looked like surprise. "Who knew that hiding under that 'I don't know what to do' attitude was a decent Pokemon Trainer?"

"Shut up." I replied, despite smiling ear to ear at the praise. "We've still got the Bunnelby to deal with."

But as I looked back towards the battle I saw that the Bunnelby had made a dash for the water bottles and was now running odd into the bush, leaving just a battered looking Pikachu behind.

"Run after that rabbit!" Damon shouted, "I'll stay back here with the Pikachu!"

"Right!" I said before taking off at a sprint.

This time I was more determined than ever to stop that dirty little thief from getting away. Partly because I was even more parched than before and partly because I didn't think it was fair that Damon would get to capture a new Pokemon despite me practically single-handedly winning the battle.

I drew on reserves of energy I didn't even know I had, my heart thudding like a drum and the rest of my body high on adrenaline. I just needed to keep running. I just needed to keep my arms and legs pumping as hard as they could. The past twenty-four hours had been one hot mess of an experience and I sure as hell wasn't going to let my bad luck get even worse with a potential new Pokemon escaping with _my_ drink bottles.

I stuttered to a halt as I saw the grey-furred Pokemon swiftly change direction. Upon regaining momentum I followed further into the Route 3 bush. It wouldn't be long now before I regained possession of the water.

And then, as I burst into a clearing, I saw it.

The Bunnelby was no longer running and instead had turned to face me. Its eyes burning into mine defiantly. But it wasn't the Pokemon that had captured my attention, it was what I saw behind it.

What must have been dozens of stolen food and drink items were scattered around the area, everything from berries to balls of rice were stockpiled in great mounds. In the centre of the clearing, propped up on a bed of grass, was a ball of brown fur. I let out a gasp as I realised it was a Pokemon, an injured Pokemon.

That's why the Pokemon had been so dead set on grabbing my water bottles. They wanted to make sure that Pokemon was supplied with more than enough food to keep it going while it recovered, and from the looks of things the Bunnelby and Pikachu had been spending almost every waking moment of the past few weeks nabbing food from unsuspecting Pokemon Trainers.

"Poseidon, return," I said, bringing the Froakie back into his ball. I wouldn't be needing any backup for this.

I kept my eyes locked on the Bunnelby. I had the feeling that if I made any sudden moves it would stop at nothing to keep me away from the injured Pokemon it guarded, but I needed to get to it, the poor soul didn't look like it would last much longer if I didn't get it to a Pokemon Centre.

I held my breathe and moved as slowly as my shaking muscles would allow, lowering myself onto the ground and shifting toward the Bunnelby.

"Bunn..." the Pokemon growled as I inched forward. This wasn't going to be as easy as I thought.

I then remembered how I had befriended Poseidon and wondered if I could bond with the Bunnelby through the love of food as well. I reached into my pack and pulled out the last of my berries, extending an arm out as I continued to move forward.

"Give them to your friend." I said softly, wondering if the other Pokemon even knew what I was saying.

"Bunnelby." The grey-furred Pokemon seemed to get the message and darted toward my hands snatching the berries in one-fluid motion and backing off toward the injured Pokemon.

"Lit..." It groggily lifted its head as the Bunnelby approached with berries.

I watched with curiosity as the Bunnelby allowed the cat-like Pokemon to chew each berry one-by-one before placing another in its mouth.

 _Litleo, the Lion Cub Pokemon,_ My Pokedex buzzed. _They set off on their own from their pride and live by themselves to become stronger. These hot-blooded Pokémon are quick to fight._

"Litleo, huh?" I said aloud before moving up alongside the Bunnelby. I stared at the grey Pokemon as it watched the Litleo fall back to sleep, it seemed sad, like it knew that it's brown-furred friend didn't have much time left. If I hadn't followed it here that is, no Pokemon was gonna die on my watch.

"Bunnelby," I spoke softly to get the rabbit Pokemon's attention. "I can bring your friend to a Pokemon Centre, make him better."

The Bunnelby seemed to understand what I was saying, and with one last look at the Litleo, grabbed the Pokeball Damon had given me and captured itself.

"I seem to be quite popular among Pokemon." I laughed, scooping the Litleo into my arms. "If only it were this easy with people."

"Well that explains a lot," a voice stated from behind me, causing me to jump.

"Were you there the whole time?" I asked, stroking the also startled Litleo.

"Most of it," Damon stated blankly, "I captured the Pikachu, by the way. Named him Houdini, he was quite happy to join my party after he watched you. Isn't that right little buddy?"

"Pi!" The electric mouse Pokemon gave a squeak of approval.

"But, that isn't even the exciting bit," Damon continued with a grin.

"What do you mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I can finally have a god damn drink!" he grinned before taking a swig of both of my drink bottles at the same time.


	6. Language of Battle

**They Came Back to Haunt Me**

 **Chapter VI: Language of Battle**

* * *

 **Katori's Current Pokemon**

 **Poseidon** (Froakie)  
Ability: Protean  
Moves: Bubble, Mud Sport, Camouflage, Quick Attack

 **Hermes** (Bunnelby)  
Ability: Pickup  
Moves: Agility, Tackle, Double Slap, Mud Slap

 **Hera** (Litleo)  
Ability: Unnerve  
Moves: Yawn, Ember, Flame Charge, Headbutt

* * *

 **Kalos Region : Santalune City - Home of the Trainer's School!**

* * *

I sat under the harsh, yellow glow of the Pokemon Centre's light, struggling to keep the Bunnelby, who I had named Hermes, from jumping the counter and charging into the emergency room. I supposed I couldn't blame the little guy for wanting so desperately to see what was going on, he must have spent weeks gathering food to make sure that his Litleo friend didn't die.

"I'm sure she'll be okay," I said as soothingly as I could manage, "These guys are professionals, they'll get your friend to tip-top shape in no time."

But my words didn't do much to stop the little ball of grey fur from hopping all over my lap, looking as if he didn't know what to do in the situation but feeling that he had to do something.

I let out a yawn and looked toward Damon, who was staring at a burger he held as if it were a dead rat. "I think you're meant to put it in your mouth." I said to the magician, giving a smile as he shot me a look of mild annoyance.

"You'd think a Pokemon Centre would serve better crap than whatever this is." He made a disgusted face, "Like, here I am, still awake at this ungodly hour, getting a little hungry- and all I've got to eat is this... this rubber!" He tugged on the burger patty to emphasise his point.

"You're being obnoxiously loud," I said plainly, "The Pokemart attendants can probably hear you."

"Well I sure as hell hope they can," he replied, "Then maybe they'll make a better attempt at producing a decent meal next time!" The Magician then promptly deposited the burger in a nearby trash can with what looked to be similar satisfaction to a schoolboy dunking a paper ball in a wastebasket. "The alcohol's pretty good though..."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh at his display, "You're such a child," I said through my giggling.

Damon returned my smile, "I do possess a sort of youthful charm, don't I?" He took a swig of his drink.

Just as I began to think of a witty retort, the Pokemon Centre doors blasted open.

"I told you I was gonna do it!" A dark-haired girl yelled, her almond eyes full of energy. "Even though you doubted me I still smashed Viola and her creepy bug Pokemon- and I even have the badge to prove it!" She held out an odd emblem that seemed to resemble a beetle.

"You got a lucky hit," A much shorter, blonde haired boy stated. "Under ordinary circumstances there was no way you could have defeated Viola using a guns blazing strategy." Despite the boy appearing several years younger than his companion, it was immediately obvious who the brains of the duo were.

"Hmph. You're just jealous that I got the Bug Badge on my first try," the girl pouted.

"Well, we'll see how your tactless battle strategy will fare in tomorrow's tournament," the boy replied, pushing a thick set of glasses further up his nose.

"Excuse me," Damon had now approached the pair, "Did you mention something about a tournament?"

The girl piped up, "Yeah! It's the Scatterbug One On One Tournament, there's gonna be tons of trainers there with tons of awesome Pokemon!"

The boy gave a sigh, "I sincerely apologise for my sister, she can be quite... rambunctious when it comes to the topic of Pokemon Battles." He once again adjusted his glasses, "Anyway, the tournament is very beginner friendly- in fact it only allows participants with one badge or less to enter, so it's a great starting point for those less experienced in battling."

"Oh shut up, Kayle," the girl punched her brother on the arm, "You know I can still understand you even if you use big words."

"I am fully aware of that, Ruby," Kayle replied, "I only wish to enrich your limited vocabulary by exposing you to as much of our wondrous language as possible."

"So..." Damon said, rather confused as to where the conversation had lead him, "Do you think you could tell me where I can sign up?"

"Oh, just inquire at the reception desk at this Pokemon Centre," Kayle explained. "They'll get you signed up."

Ruby gave a yawn, "Come on little bro, I'm tired. Let's head upstairs and get some sleep."

The blonde nodded and then extended an arm out toward Damon, "Pleasure to meet you, I hope to see you in the tournament." After a firm shaking of Damon's hand he turned to go, but then seemed to remember something, "I never did quite catch your name."

"Damon," the magician grinned, "and this is my travel partner, Katori."

Both Ruby and Kayle seemed a tad surprised at the mentioning of my name, as if they didn't even realise I had been there up until that point. In response to their stares I just gave an awkward wave and attempted to sink into the wall and disappear.

"Well, a pleasure meeting you both." Kayle nodded in my direction before heading upstairs with his sister.

There was a moment of quiet. Nothing but the beeping of machines and the soft sound of Hermes' chest rising and falling as he had finally managed to get to sleep.

Then Damon looked toward me, "So, you gonna sign up for the tournament?"

My eyes immediately went wide with horror, "No!" I yelled, "Nononononononono!"

"What? Why?" Damon asked, "You did great in the battle against Hermes and Houdini."

"No no no, you don't understand, that's entirely different!" I gushed, my speech accelerating, "Back there it was just you, me and the Pokemon. This tournament is gonna have dozens of people watching my every move- if I fuck up, everyone is gonna see."

"How are you going to get Gym Badges if you don't want to challenge other trainers?" The magician asked.

"Why would you think I want Gym Badges?" I asked him, "I didn't come out here to get Gym Badges or compete in tournaments!"

Damon raised an eyebrow, "Then why did you come here?"

I froze up at that. What was I supposed to say? I couldn't just tell him that I thought a ghost had made me murder my parents and I had travelled out here for one giant therapy session. But I definitely couldn't battle either.

"Look, that's none of your business," I said, much more harshly than I intended. "I just don't want to battle and that's that."

"Alright, alright!" Damon said, raising his hands up defensively, "I'll just sign myself up then, but you still have to come and watch me."

"Fine." I said, trying to calm myself down. "I will, but you better not expect any battling out of me."

"Alright I won't..." he Sighed, walking over to the reception desk to sign up.

I just stared at the ground, a little surprised at how angry I had sounded- even to myself. I wasn't trying to be mad, I didn't even want to be mad. I just...

"Excuse me miss," A Pokemon Centre attendant called from behind the counter. "Your Litleo has been restored to full health."

* * *

The next day I found myself wading through an ocean of people. This tiny little tournament seemed to have attracted a lot more than just a few dozen people- and I didn't like it, not one bit.

Poseidon and Hermes, who seemed to agree with me that the Santalune streets were far too busy, had withdrawn into their Pokeballs. The new addition to the party, however was weaving in and out of the crowed with curiosity lit up in her eyes. The Litleo didn't seem fazed at all by the bustling city.

"Your Litleo seems excited," Damon said, seeming a little nervous, something that I found rather strange. "You got a name for him yet?"

"Yes actually," I replied. In fact it had been all I was thinking about last night, Aphrodite and Hera had both been options I had considered, but in the end I went with... "Artemis is _her_ name."

"Oh." Damon scratched the back of his head, giving the Litleo an apologetic glance. "Sorry, Artemis."

"Leoooo." Artemis just brushed up against the magician's legs, not seeming to understand what was going on.

"So." I began, attempting to strike up conversation, "Aren't you at all nervous for the tournament, what with all these people around? I know if I was competing in here I would be absolutely horrified."

Damon went pale.

"Uh, Damon?" I said, trying to get his attention, "Are you alright?"

He snapped to attention, "Well, about the tournament thing..."

"Damon, what could possibly be wrong? You love the spotlight." I raised an eyebrow.

"Well that's exactly the problem..." he continued, "I'm not going to be the one in the spotlight."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Its a funny story actually, well I thought it was..." he said in a way that made me think nothing about this story would be funny at all. "So, I went up to register for the tournament and the receptionist asked me to hand in my trainer ID so she could sign me up. Well, here's the funny bit, I kinda somehow accidentally gave them your ID."

It was now my turn to go pale.

"Damon." I spoke his name barely louder than a whisper, "How the fuck did this happen?"

"Look, I was tired okay? Both of our bags were sitting together and they look kinda similar, so I..." he trailed off, seeing the bubbling of my anger begin to boil out of my body.

"Listen here you bumbling buffoon," I growled, "You're gonna go back to the Pokemon centre and fix this right now."

 **All participants in the Scatterbug Tournament please report to the Santalune Battle Dome** _,_ an announcer buzzed.

With a start I felt my anger start to give way to fear, "You have to take my place, Damon. You can't make me do this."

"I can't!" he yelled in protest, "You're the only trainer that has been verified for that spot, I could lose my licence if I took your place!"

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck..." I began to pace back and forth, running my thin fingers through my long black hair. I could already feel their eyes on me, locked and searching for any signs of weakness, any mistakes I would make... they would see them.

"Katori, please, I promise it'll be fine," Damon said in a useless attempt to reassure me.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..." My pacing quickened. I had to get away from those eyes. Those cold and probing eyes.

"I'll be with you the whole time," the magician spoke again, "You'll do fine, no one is going to judge you."

I looked up at Damon, "The _whole_ time? You promise?"

"I promise," he said, looking like he meant it. "Now we have to go, if you don't show up they might suspend the both of us from tournaments."

* * *

I was shaking.

I was so painfully aware of the fact that I was shaking that it made me want to shake even more.

Damon and I were standing in some waiting room, just off to the side of the Battle Dome. I could only thank Arceus that each of the competitors had been given a separate room. I felt a chill run down my spine as I pictured the judging eyes of my opposition crawling all over me.

"You're going to be fine, Katori," Damon said, softly placing a hand on my arm. "You've just got to do what you did before... when we caught Houdini and Hermes."

I pulled away from him, drumming my fingers against the side of my body in frustration. "There must be something we can do!" I yelled at the roof, "I could resign!" I whipped around, staring intensely at Damon, "That's something I can do, right?"

He just looked back solemnly, "Not after the tournament has started... The only way you could quit is by forfeiting your match, but you have to at least start the battle to do that."

"So I'd have to forfeit in front of all those people?" I asked, horrified. Damon just nodded. "Why, oh why couldn't you tell me about your screw up earlier?"

The magician looked at the ground, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Damon..." I growled, "What are you hiding from me?"

 **Congratulations to Kayle and his Fletchinder for emerging victorious in battle three! the buzzer cut in, now for our fourth battle of the Scatterbug Tournament we have Katori of Sunnyshore versus Ruby of Anistar!**

I felt myself go white. It was time.

I turned away from Damon, heading toward the bright light of the Battle Dome. I was almost out the door when I heard the magician's voice from behind me.

"Good luck, Katori," he said, pausing. "And sorry."

I just nodded, before pushing the door of the waiting room open and bracing myself for the stares of hundreds of spectators.

The Battle Dome was, as you would expect, round. The actual battle area was fashioned entirely from dirt that seemed loose beneath my sneakers. To my left there was a raised slab of rock that I assumed was where I was meant to stand, my soon-to-be opponent stood opposite, her blue eyes sparking confidently beneath her wavy blonde hair.

Wait- I knew that girl. Ruby, that was her name. She was the one who we had come across in the Pokèmon centre last night. The fact that I had interacted with my opponent before, even if only briefly, brought me comfort. As if the fact that I could actually recognise someone made the cold sea of eyes burning down on my back a little more bearable.

I pulled myself up onto the slab, trying to mimic Ruby's confident battle stance. Despite my efforts I still shook with a mixture of nerves and foreboding anticipation. There was something else in there too... some other thing in the mess of emotions I was feeling...

Ruby grinned at me from where she stood, only a few dozen yards away. "You're Katori, right? To be honest, I didn't think you were the type to enter these types of things, but I'm glad we got to battle so soon." She grabbed a Pokèball at her belt, "I feel that's the best way to _really_ get to know someone."

 **Trainers!** the announcer began excitedly, **You will each select one Pokèmon to battle with in single combat. When one trainer's Pokèmon is unable to battle that match is declared over!**

I grasped for a Pokèball. Staring at it, silently preying that this wouldn't go to shit.

"Poseidon," I murmured, staring at the glossy red surface of the ball, "We've got a real important battle ahead. I sure as hell hope you're ready."

 **When you are ready...**

I prepared the ball, feeling it enlarge in my hand.

 **3...**

I took a deep breath, focusing wholly on the task at hand, blocking out everything except the Battle Dome, Ruby and myself.

 **2...**

"I can do this... I can do this..." I repeated to myself, attempting to drown out the sounds of the crowed.

 **1...**

This was it. I had done all I could to prepare. I just had to deal with the icy stares now, I just had to try to ignore them all.

 **Round One, Battle Four- Katori versus Ruby! Begin!**

"Go Poseidon!" I yelled.

"Go Lucius!" Ruby followed.

"Froakie!" Poseidon gave a croaky war cry as he burst forward from his Pokèball. He seemed to have heard my words from earlier and was bursting with fighting energy.

"Larvitar!" Ruby's Pokèmon leapt forward with a roar, positioning itself in a boxer's stance, tiny arms at the ready.

 _Larvitar, the Rock Skin Pokèmon,_ my Pokèdex buzzed. _Larvitar is born deep under the ground. To come up to the surface, this Pokémon must eat its way through the soil above. Until it does so, Larvitar cannot see its parents._

I gave a quizzical look at the tiny creature before her, wondering how the hell something of that size was supposed to eat itself out of the ground.

"Nevermind that," I told myself. "Focus on knocking the thing out."

With a start I noticed that the dirt floor around Ruby's Pokèmon seemed to be, well, coming to life. It was whirring around and kicking up into a storm of dust particles, growing bigger with every second that passed.

"What the hell is that?" I muttered.

"That is Sandstream!" Ruby yelled over the sound of roaring dust, "It's Lucius's ability. It lets him kick up a sandstorm whenever he enters a battle!"

For something so small, that little dinosaur creature sure was powerful. On the bright side, the sandstorm was making it a bit harder to see the crowd of people looking down on me. Not to mention the fact that it probably helped to obscure my nervous shaking. Although it did also make me even more afraid as to how badly this battle could go. I supposed it was a double edged sword.

"Alright, Lucius!" Ruby grabbed her Pokèmon's attention. "Hit that Froakie with a bite!"

"Larvitar!" The rock Pokèmon began to charge towards Poseidon, its mouth wide open and ready to attack.

"Uh, Poseidon use Water Gun!" I cried, remembering that rock Pokèmon were vulnerable to water attacks.

Froaaaaa!"

The blue Pokèmon let out a steady stream of water toward Ruby's charging Larvitar, but to my horror the rock type didn't end up getting pushed back but instead just charged on through the water and clamped down hard on Poseidon's face.

"Kieee!" he cried out, trying to push his much heavier opponent off of him.

"Froakie! Try another Water Gun at point blank!" I cried, hoping that shooting water right into the rock type's throat would get it off, but the moment Poseidon started taking a breath for another attack, Ruby took action.

"Move around and use Chip Away on its back, Lucius!"

"Poseidon get out of there!" I cried desperately, but it was too late. The Larvitar rammed Poseidon's back with the pointed spike atop its head, driving the frog Pokèmon into the ground. He was seriously hurt, the sandstorm whipping at his blue skin to add to the damage he had suffered.

I heard a collection of gasps from the crowd. They were seeing everything, how I was being manhandled by the opposing trainers. I swore I could hear them making remarks at my inexperience, at my complete lack of control in the situation. There was nothing I could do except watch as Ruby obliterated Poseidon. Even though she was making reckless moves Poseidon was helpless. She had trained Lucius to be so much stronger...

Damon... he was watching this. He was seeing me getting destroyed, he was so confident that I would do well... would he even want to travel with me after this? If it were Damon in this battle he'd be running circles around the Larvitar, using his tricks to decieve instead of fighting head on. He probably would have used Mud Sport to blind the Larvitar or something smart like that.

But I was useless... with the eyes of the crowd on me the stadium felt like an exam room. The eyes just waiting for me to fail. My knees grew weak and I had to use all my strength to stop myself from collapsing. They were all seeing this, seeing my weakness.

"Hold on..." I muttered, "I'm a fucking idiot."

I had somehow managed to use my internal, self-hating monologue to formulate a somewhat decent plan. Go me.

"Alright, Lucius, it's been fun, but it's time to finish this!" Ruby called, victory already flashing in her eyes. She didn't suspect a thing. "Use Bite!"

"Poseidon, mud sport in the eyes!" I yelled.

Just as the Larvitar began its charge, my brave little Froakie flicked a wave of mud into the rock type's face.

"Lar?" Ruby's Pokèmon gave a cry of confusion as it lost all vision.

"Now, Poseidon, use camouflage!" I commanded, unable to stop myself from smiling.

Poseidon seemed to share my mad grin as his blue skin shifted to a light brown and he melded into the sandstorm like a drop of water in a river.

"Get that muck out of your eyes, Lucius!" Ruby ordered. She didn't sound shocked or frightened about the sudden turn of events, but instead...

That was it. That was the feeling that had been mixed in with the fear and the nerves. I was excited. It was like Ruby had said, Pokèmon battles were the best way to get to know people... but it was more than that. It was a way of communication, like dance or in Damon's case his magic, Pokèmon battling was a way that I could speak with people without actually speaking.

It didn't matter that I couldn't come up with a conversation topic to save my life, because in a battle the topic was already set, and for someone like me, who spent all her time avoiding conversation while still being curious about people, well, this was truly exhilarating.

"Poseidon! Get in close! Blast that Lavitar with a point-blank Water Gun!" I yelled.

The Froakie seemed to materialise out of thin air next to the Lavitar, delivering a blast of water right to its pointed face.

"Larrr!" It cried out as it was knocked backward, its hard body striking the ground with an audible thud. Just a few more of those and I'd have this match in the bag.

"Poseidon! Camouflage!" I called, getting into the beat of the battle, "Switch positions and fire off another Water Gun!"

"Not so fast!" Ruby interrupted, "Lucius, don't let him disappear, use taunt!"

"Lar!" The rock Pokèmon raised one of its stubby arms and pointed at the Froakie, a strange gurgling noise emitting from its stomach. With a start, I realised it was laughing.

"What the hell?" I wondered, confused as to what the move was supposed to achieve. "Come on Poseidon, Camouflage!"

But to my horror, Poseidon didn't listen. Instead of fading into the sandstorm he began to charge toward the Larvitar, as if despite everything that had happened he still thought he could muscle the much physically stronger Pokèmon to the ground.

"Poseidon, what are you doing?" I cried out in a desperate attempt to get his attention. "Why won't you listen to me?"

"Simple," Ruby answered, a grin plastered across her face. "Taunt makes the opposing Pokèmon too angry to do anything other than try to damage Lucius." She once again adopted a confident stance, "I'll admit that camouflage strat is flippin' awesome, but it's not gonna help you now." She took a deep breath before giving the final command of the battle, "Lucius! Chip Away!"

Just as Poseidon was about to make contact, the Larvitar lowered its pointed head and drove it in to the water Pokèmon. This time Poseidon was down for good.

 **What a battle!** The announcer yelled as the crowd roared, **The most exciting of the day, if you ask me. Congratulations to Ruby and her Larvitar who will be going on to the next round!**

* * *

Back in the waiting room I saw a very apologetic looking Damon waiting for me.

"I'm so, so sorry," he began, "I know you lost, but you were awe-"

"Shut up," I cut him off, "I know I was awesome."

"What?" For once Damon seemed genuinely confused.

"I decided I actually quite like Pokèmon battles," I grinned at him, "And besides, it was only an accident, you don't need to be sorry."

"Oh..." Damon was smiling now, "You wouldn't mind if I told you it wasn't an accident, right?"

"What?"

"Like, if I told you it was part of a genius plan I concocted while tired and a little drunk to get you to try a battle, you wouldn't be mad right?" His smile grew even wider.

"You fucking ass." I punched him on the shoulder, my grin never faltering.

"Come on, I'm hungry," he said, grabbing his things to leave. "I'll pay to make up for making you enter a tournament against your will and all."

"Yeah, it's a start."


End file.
